Joining a chorus of voices including Meryl Streep, Dench acknowledged the role Weinstein has had in making her career the success it is, but revealed that she was unaware of the ‘horrifying’ offences he has been accused of.

‘Whilst there is no doubt that Harvey Weinstein has helped and championed my film career for the past 20 years, I was completely unaware of these offences which are, of course, horrifying and I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out,’ said Dench speaking to Newsweek.

Dench was awarded her first Academy Award, for best supporting actress, for her role in Shakespeare In Love, which was a Miramax release, Weinstein’s company before he launched The Weinstein Company.

Most recently Dench has worked with Weinstein on 2013’s Philomena and the upcoming Tulip Fever; Weinstein revealed n 2011 that she has a tattoo on her bum cheek which reads ‘JD loves HW’.

A statement was issued on Sunday night from The Weinstein Company after the remaining members of the Board of Directors deciding to give Harvey the boot.

The statement read: ‘In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of The Weinstein Company – Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar – have determined, and have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately.’

Harvey Weinstein (L) and actress Meryl Streep (Picture: WireImage)

Claims were reported in The New York Times at the weekend, alleging Weinstein had sexually harassed his female employees over nearly thirty years, reportedly reaching private settlements with eight of the women.

The 65-year-old is facing a number of sexual harassment allegations, with actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan among the accusers. Weinstein released a statement saying he ‘so respects women’ and apologised for ‘causing pain’ but added that he has taken legal action against the New York Times for their explosive article, branding it ‘reckless reporting’.

‘They told me lies. They made assumptions,’ he claimed to Page Six. ‘The Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didn’t live up to the bargain.’

The New York Times responded to Variety, saying Weinstein ‘was aware and able to respond to specific allegations in our story before publication’. They stand by their story.

Streep branded his behaviour ‘inexcusable’ and hailed the ‘brave’ voices of those who have spoken up.

The 68-year-old, who once called Harvey Weinstein ‘God’, said in a statement: ‘The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game.’

Harvey Weinstein: The allegations that helped lead to the sacking of the Hollywood heavyweight

A number of women have so far come forward to accuse Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse during their time working with the 65-year-old.

As more brave ladies come forward with their accounts, we sum up which women in the film industry have so far spoken out against Harvey, accusing him of assault or harassment.

Rose McGowan

Rose McGowan (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

Rose McGowan is the highest-profile of Weinstein’s accusers, with it emerging she reportedly sued the movie producer for making advances on her during the production of the Weinstein-produced 1996 teen slasher film Scream.

McGowan claims she was abused by Weinstein inside a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. Rose has previously claimed she was raped by a studio head and on Sunday, she tweeted about being abused by a ‘monster’.

Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd claims that during the filming of Weinstein’s movie Kiss the Girls, he repeatedly asked her to watch him as he showered and offered to give her a massage in his hotel room.

(Picture: MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock)

She says she remembers thinking at the time: ‘How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?’

Judd spoke out about Harvey this week as The New York Times posted the allegations. She said in a statement: ‘Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly.’

Laura Madden

Laura Madden is an ex-employee of Weinstein’s and alleges he asked her to give him massages from 1991 and onwards. She told the NYT: ‘It was so manipulative. You constantly question yourself – am I the one who is the problem?’

Elizabeth Karlsen

(Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Like O’Connor, producer Elizabeth Karlsen shared her experience of claims she had been told by female staff. She claims a young female executive told her thirty years ago how she found Weinstein on her bed in a house rented by Miramax.

Emily Nestor

Emily Nestor was a temporary employee at The Weinstein company when she was allegedly invited to the same hotel as Judd and made another offer. Nestor claims that she had been offered a career boost if she accepted Weinstein’s advances in 2014.

Ambra Battilana

Ambra Battilana (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Italian actress and model Ambra Battilana also claimed to the NYT that Weinstein had asked her if her breasts were real in a meeting in New York in 2015, before he allegedly grabbed her chest while putting his hands up her skirt. She is another victim Weinstein apparently paid off after police failed to press charges.

Lauren O’Connor

Another former employee of TWC, Lauren O’Connor spoke out in 2015, telling executives that women were faced with a ‘toxic environment’. It followed her being told by a female assistant that Weinstein had coerced her into giving him a massage while he was naked. She was apparently left ‘crying and very distraught’. O’connor had written in her report: ‘There is a toxic environment for women at this company.’

Lauren Sivan

Television reporter Lauren Sivan (Photo by Oliver Walker/FilmMagic)

Lauren Sivan claims Weinstein masturbated in a restaurant after trapping her there with him, climaxing in front of her during the incident in 2007 when she refused to kiss him, reports the Huffington Post.

She has since defended herself on Twitter for keeping silent for 10 years.

For those asking why I waited?YOU try telling that story 10yrs ago. Only possible now because of women with bigger names far braver than me